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What to expectGeorge and Margo Branch were privileged to have spent three months in the Galapagos Islands, guest of Rodrigo and Sol Bustamante: payback time for when Rodrigo did his PhD in Cape Town under George's supervision! Their research in Galapagos involved experimentally investigating the relative effects of grazing by iguanas, fish and crabs on the life that grows on the shores of Galapagos. By pure chance, George and Margo arrived in Galapagos when it was being struck with one of the most dramatic El Nino events on record, and the research thus gained a new 'edge' because George was able to follow the influence of this on these animals and the ecology of the islands. The research was then continued by a local student, Lois Vinueza, who followed up the work after the El-Nino had passed. George's talk will provide an outline of the ecology of these 'Enchanted Islands' and then describe how the research led to new insights into how things change with shifts in climate ... with implications even for the quality of wine in South Africa!
Georgina’s section of the talk will be about how the Galapagos, being impacted by no less than three ocean currents, attracts both ocean pelagics and an extraordinary density of resident marine life. Georgina will also share some video footage taken by their divemaster while on the diving section of her visit there.
With a passion for sea life, George Branch describes himself as a one-time choral singer, photographer, scuba-diver, tennis player of ill repute and beach bum par excellence. He and his wife Margo have devoted a lifetime to studying and communicating the excitement of marine science to both the public and to generations of students at the University of Cape Town, and have published over 260 scientific articles and 12 books. Their award-winning books ‘Two Oceans – a guide to Marine Life of southern Africa’, and ‘Living Shores of southern Africa’ are standard references on marine life. George has been awarded the Gold Medal of the Zoological Society, the Gilchrist Gold Medal, the International Temperate Reef lifetime Award and a ‘Distinguished Teachers Award’ at the University of Cape Town, where he was privileged to work with a wonderful group of postgraduate students. He and his wife have spent their ‘retirement’ years cherishing grandparental joys, rewriting the book ‘Living Shores’ to update it and convey the thrills of discovery that have taken place in the 35 years since they first wrote that book, producing the 5th edition of Two Oceans, publishing multiple papers and and giving multiple public talks.
Georgina Jones is a marine naturalist with an ongoing fascination for the biodiversity of the waters around the Cape Peninsula and False Bay. She is currently producing the second edition of her field guide to the marine animals of the area and has just published a comprehensive guide to the sea slug fauna of southern Africa. She lives in Cape Town specifically because of the marine biodiversity and is constantly amazed and delighted by the many and varied unfolding life stories she finds beneath the ocean's surface.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
32 Belper Road, Wynberg, Cape Town, South Africa
